Legacy &
Getting Involved
For the archives this project is as much about looking to the future, as it is about delving into Buckinghamshire’s rich past. We want all residents of Buckinghamshire, regardless of age, gender, race or sexuality to feel that they are represented in the archives and also that they have a stake in its future. For us, the Lost Victorian Voices project is the beginning of a much wider conversation about queer inclusion in the archives and what that looks like in the future. To this end, we have endeavoured to provide several different avenues for interested members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies to engage with the project and give it a wider lasting legacy. You can find out more about these below.
Lost Victorian Voices Postcards
One way in which you could make a contribution to the archives’ collections is through our ongoing Lost Victorian Voices postcards initiative. We’ve been asking Buckinghamshire residents to fill out postcards which send a message to the LGBTQ+ communities of the future, these postcards are then collected and preserved for posterity as part of the archives’ permanent collection. Now for the first time we’re extending this digitally, to ensure we can reach as many people as possible. If you would like to make a digital submission, simply send an email to archives@buckinghamshire.gov.uk with your message in the body of the email and the subject line “Lost Victorian Voices Postcard”, and we’ll take your message and add it to the collection of postcards in the archives.
If you would prefer to make a handwritten physical deposit you can also fill out a postcard by visiting Buckinghamshire Archives at our offices on Walton Street in Aylesbury and requesting a postcard there.
Archival Deposits
We also welcome expressions of interest from individuals who believe they hold a collection of archival material which could be of significant historical interest to researchers and the LGBTQ+ community, either today, or in the future. This could be tangible physical and digital material such as documents, photos and videos, or more intangible material like the possibility of interviewing individuals who are connected to the LGBTQ+ community in an important way.
To express your interest in making an archival deposit, simply drop an email to archives@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or you can visit us in person at our Walton Street offices (our address and opening times can be found on the Contact Us page of this website).
Research Guide
Alongside our schemes aimed at increasing archival representation of LGBTQ+ people in the future, Buckinghamshire Archives have also created a research guide which enables people to engage with the research process of the Lost Victorian Voices project, see for themselves the existing archival material which helped bring these stories to life, and is designed to help people to conduct their own research into the lives of LGBTQ+ people from Buckinghamshire and beyond.
You can access the guide online here.
